


and nothing to get hung about

by duets



Category: Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Iron Man (Comic)
Genre: F/M, M/M, Multi, au-ish
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-25
Updated: 2013-01-25
Packaged: 2017-11-26 22:01:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 451
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/654863
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/duets/pseuds/duets
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>pepper/tony/rhodey & a drabble for a ferris bueller's day off au of sorts. tony calls in sick a lot. there is a pool.</p>
            </blockquote>





	and nothing to get hung about

"Tony Stark, you're my hero," he said, and his voice was creaking like old wood, chlorine burning up his lungs, but he couldn’t stop grinning, curse that damned Stark pool and its damned crazy Stark germs. He was going insane. It felt kind of nice.

There’s silence after that and Rhodey braced himself for what was to come. It had always taken a second for it to register for Tony, Rhodey knew, had known for a long time what made and didn’t make Tony's brain skip, ever since middle-school and their first collectively stolen lunch money, Rhodey’s first punch to the face, Tony's eyes wide and staring at the blood in his mouth until Rhodey had told him to stop gaping, _we are not fish_. He could count in the fingers of one hand the things that made Tony silent—the good and the bad kinds—but he never thought it would be him one day. So it was understandable if he laughed a bit, surprised and more than just a little proud of himself.

"You... Bastard, son of a—," Tony said, squinting at him, barely a whisper, his hand still clutching hard to Rhodey's arm, imprinting half-moons to his wet skin. Tony always forgot about the important things, like cutting his nails.

"Shut up, Stark," Rhodey replied, softer than the occasion probably called for, because really, it was not like no one had tried before, but it was still fucking satisfying to see it actually work for once.

Behind him, Pepper started to shake with laughter, placed a kiss to Rhodey's forehead, a blessing for his momentary boldness, all while Tony was still gaping, frowning a bit.

A while afterwards, when the late afternoon breeze started to kick in and Rhodey started to feel the cold cling to him despite the sun, he scooted over to get closer to Tony and Pepper, seeking warmth under the summer’s angry glare.

And even though he had said _fuck you_ first, Tony still made space for Rhodey to fit in, still let him put his head to his shoulder.

The sleepiness that came with swimming and almost drowning was already pushing him down into dozing off; his friends’ chatter around him the greatest hook for a nap, Tony’s spiky bones the perfect pillow. Rhodey blinked, tired but boneless, and beside him he could see Pepper’s hair starting to dry with the wind, catching the sunshine like a magic mirror in an amusement park, all bright strands of gold and orange.

He stared at it for as long as he could—and then, when sleep finally caught up to him, Rhodey felt, for the first time in a long time, not blinded at all.


End file.
